Red Sox defeat Rays; Friday's American League recap

BOSTON — A.J. Pierzynski hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the 10th inning and the Boston Red Sox — on their fourth manager of the night following a string of ejections — beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 Friday in the latest testy game between the teams.

Jonny Gomes scored the winning run. Fittingly, he reached base when he was hit by a pitch, a common theme that led to one bench-clearing scrum and nearly as many ejections as runs on a wild night at Fenway Park.

Juan Carlos Oviedo (1-2) plunked Gomes with one out in the 10th and Pierzynski followed with a drive to the triangle in right-centre.

The Red Sox rushed out of the dugout — for once not to possibly fight their AL East rivals — and celebrated their fifth straight win following a 10-game skid.

Andrew Miller (2-4) got the win after the Red Sox rallied from a 2-0 deficit against Tampa Bay ace David Price.

ASTROS 2, ORIOLES 1

HOUSTON (AP) — Jonathan Villar broke an 0-for-26 slump with a go-ahead double in the seventh inning and Houston extended its winning streak to seven games with a victory over Baltimore in the annual Major League Baseball Civil Rights game.

It is the first time Houston, losers of 100-plus games the last three seasons, has won seven straight since 2010.

Brett Oberholtzer (2-6) allowed four hits and a run in seven innings. Chad Qualls got four outs for his fifth save.

The Astros had one hit before Matt Dominguez doubled to start the seventh. Alex Presley singled with one out but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Robbie Grossman followed with a double to tie it 1-all. Villar’s ground-rule double chased Miguel Gonzalez (3-4).

The Astros wore the uniforms of the Houston Eagles and the Orioles donned the uniforms of the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro Leagues.

Houston rookie George Springer, who hit seven homers in his previous seven games, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts to snap an 11-game hitting streak.

ATHLETICS 9, ANGELS 5

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Brandon Moss hit a grand slam in the first inning, and Josh Donaldson had two home runs and four RBIs in Oakland’s victory over Los Angeles.

Coco Crisp had two hits and drove in a run for the A’s, who have won three of five since a four-game losing streak. Moss left the game with right calf tightness.

Howie Kendrick hit a two-run homer and Mike Trout added a solo shot for the Angels, who lost for only the seventh time in 21 games. C.J. Cron also drove in a pair of runs.

Drew Pomeranz (5-2) pitched a season-high 5 1-3 innings, allowing five runs and four hits. Pomeranz had not allowed a run at home in 17 innings before the Angels struck in the fourth.

Garrett Richards (4-2) got only two outs. He gave up five runs on five hits in the first inning.

TWINS 6, YANKEES 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Ricky Nolasco pitched six effective innings, Oswaldo Arcia homered and threw out a runner at home plate, and Minnesota flexed some muscle in beating New York.

Josh Willingham and Trevor Plouffe also connected against Vidal Nuno (1-2) for the light-hitting Twins, winners for the second time in eight games. Texas and Kansas City were the only American League teams to begin the day with fewer homers than the Twins’ 39.

Kurt Suzuki and former Yankees infielder Eduardo Nunez had RBI singles in the eighth, giving Minnesota its highest run total since scoring eight against Boston on May 13.

Cain went 3 for 4 and matched a career high with four RBIs. Gordon reached base three times to help the Royals hand Toronto its second consecutive loss following a season-best, nine-game winning streak.

Kansas City has 24 home runs, fewest in the majors.

Vargas (5-2) struck out seven in six innings. He is 2-0 with a 1.60 ERA in six road starts.

J.A. Happ (4-2) lost for the first time in four starts, allowing a season-worst six runs in 7 2-3 innings. Jose Bautista homered for the Blue Jays and threw out a runner at first base from right field for the second straight game.

Cabrera hit a two-run shot in the third off Iwakuma (3-2) to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Martinez connected two innings later for a three-run shot on the 10th pitch of the at-bat after Cabrera was intentionally walked.

It was the 13th homer of the season for Martinez, who raised his AL-leading average to .347. Rajai Davis also went deep for Detroit.

Verlander (6-4) lost three of his previous four starts and gave up 11 hits in each of his past two outings. This time, he allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked one.

Joba Chamberlain pitched the ninth for his second save.

Kyle Seager hit a two-run homer for the Mariners, who played without second baseman Robinson Cano (bruised hand) for the second straight night.

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INTERLEAGUE

INDIANS 5, ROCKIES 2

CLEVELAND (AP) — Corey Kluber struck out 12 in 7 1-3 innings to extend his dominant pitching in May, and Asdrubal Cabrera broke a fifth-inning tie with a two-run homer to send Cleveland over Colorado.

Kluber (6-3) gave up a two-run shot to Carlos Gonzalez in the fourth but recorded his third double-figure strikeout game this season. He ends the month 4-0 with a 2.09 ERA in six starts.

Kluber, who struck out a career-high 13 on May 4 against the White Sox, finished May with 60 strikeouts in 43 innings. The right-hander allowed five hits with one walk and was given a standing ovation by the crowd of 25,066 when he was pulled after retiring the first batter in the eighth.

The Indians snapped a four-game losing streak, while the Rockies fell to 2-5 on their nine-game trip.

Cleveland chased Juan Nicasio (5-3) with a four-run fifth. Michael Bourn’s single tied the game before Cabrera’s homer put the Indians ahead. Lonnie Chisenhall, who drove in two runs, added an RBI double.

Cody Allen pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.

PADRES 4, WHITE SOX 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Ian Kennedy struck out nine in six strong innings and Yonder Alonso hit a two-run homer to lead San Diego past Chicago.

Cameron Maybin hit his first home run of the season and Alonso finished with three hits as the Padres ended Chicago’s three-game winning streak.

Kennedy (4-6) yielded one run and four hits with three walks. The lone run was set up by Maybin’s mental lapse in centre field in the fourth inning, when he forgot how many outs there were.

Huston Street pitched a perfect ninth for his 16th save in 16 opportunities.